Preventative Care

If you want your pet to beat the average age and live a better quality of life, then follow simple advice below to help your pet live a happy, healthy life.

We estimate that by following this advice, you could help your pet live up to an additional five years compared to pet owners who do not follow these simple rules. 

Wellness Exams

Your pet’s health is always our number one priority, which is why for most pets we recommend annual wellness exams to ensure that your animal companion remains in good health. If your pet is a senior–over seven for dogs, over nine for cats–we strongly suggest twice-yearly exams and blood screenings. That’s because pets age more rapidly than humans, meaning disease and illness develop faster as well.

Destin Animal Clinic’s veterinarian-performed physical exams comprehensively assess every aspect of your pet’s health. Cats and dog’s wellness exams typically include:

• Ear exam
• Eye exam
• Rectal exam
• Dental exam
• Skeletal exam
• Reproductive system exam
• Internal health evaluation
• Neurological evaluation
• Cardiovascular evaluation
• Nutrition consultation
• Behavior counseling

Choose A Quality Diet For Your Pet

We are what we eat, we’ve all heard the phrase and it’s just as important for pets as it is for people. The problem is that with so many diet choices available it can be hard to pick out the right diet for your pet. Consult with your veterinarian to determine which food is best for your pet.

Prevent Parasites

We live in an area with an abundance of parasites. Florida hosts parasites in fleas, intestinal worms, heartworms, and ticks. We recommend to keep your pet on year round prevention. 

We are proud to now offer Proheart 12 for year round heartworm prevention!

ProHeart 12 is the only FDA-approved product that prevents heartworm disease in dogs for 1 full year with just 1 shot given by your veterinarian. At the time of the shot, ProHeart 12 also treats hookworms. The active ingredient, moxidectin, is contained in slow-dissolving microspheres that are stored in your dog’s fat-storing connective tissue (a.k.a. adipose tissue). The medicine is then released evenly over 1 year’s time, keeping your pet consistently protected from heartworms.

Click here to read more information on Proheart!

We are also proud to recommend the following preventions for year round, monthly treatment, of heartworms, internal parasites, and external parasites!

Simparica Trio

Simparica Trio is a once-a-month chewable that protects your dog with three proven ingredients designed for defense. It’s available with a prescription and comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

• Protects dogs against heartworm disease, ticks & fleas, roundworms & hookworms.
• FDA-approved to block infections that may cause Lyme disease by killing deer ticks.
• Demonstrated safe for puppies as young as 8 weeks old, weighing at least 2.8 lbs.
• Simparica Trio is the first monthly chewable to protect dogs against heartworm disease, 5 types of ticks, fleas, roundworms and hookworms, all in only one monthly chewable.

Click here to read more information on Simparica Trio!

Revolution Plus for Cats

• Revolution Plus protects your cat from common parasites with a once-monthly application.
• Revolution Plus broadens the scope of protection for cats and kittens, inside and out, against fleas, ticks, ear mites, roundworms, hookworms, and heartworms.
• Revolution Plus is the only prescription combination preventative to protect against 4 types of ticks.
• Quick-drying, small-volume, and applied topically on the back of your cat’s neck.
• Approved for cats and kittens as young as 8 weeks of age, weighing 2.8 lbs or more.

Click here to read more information on Revolution Plus!

We have discontinued carrying Heartgard Plus & Nexgard products in hospital. If your pet has been on these preventions & you would like for your pet to continue on them, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 850-837-2931 and we will be happy to preauthorize a prescription through our online pharmacy for you!

If you would like to order directly through our online pharmacy please click here!

Important note in regards to other online pharmacies:

• If you have ordered through an online pharmacy other than through our online website, we can not ensure that you will receive an authentic product and the manufacture’s guarantee is voided. These products are usually sourced from various locations & there is no way to ensure that the products have been stored in proper conditions or that it is not a counterfeit product. 
• Products ordered through our online pharmacy come directly from the manufacture and have a manufactures guarantee. 

Why do we recommend year round prevention against heartworms, internal parasites, and external parasites?

Heartworm Disease:
Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease in pets in the United States and many other parts of the world. It is caused by foot-long worms (heartworms) that live in the heart, lungs and associated blood vessels of affected pets, causing severe lung disease, heart failure and damage to other organs in the body. Heartworm disease affects dogs, cats and ferrets, but heartworms also live in other mammal species, including wolves, coyotes, foxes, sea lions and—in rare instances—humans. Because wild species such as foxes and coyotes live in proximity to many urban areas, they are considered important carriers of the disease.

How is heartworm disease transmitted from one pet to another?
The mosquito plays an essential role in the heartworm life cycle. Adult female heartworms living in an infected dog, fox, coyote, or wolf produce microscopic baby worms called microfilaria that circulate in the bloodstream. When a mosquito bites and takes a blood meal from an infected animal, it picks up these baby worms, which develop and mature into “infective stage” larvae over a period of 10 to 14 days. Then, when the infected mosquito bites another dog, cat, or susceptible wild animal, the infective larvae are deposited onto the surface of the animal’s skin and enter the new host through the mosquito’s bite wound. Once inside a new host, it takes approximately 6 months for the larvae to develop into sexually mature adult heartworms. Once mature, heartworms can live for 5 to 7 years in dogs and up to 2 or 3 years in cats. Because of the longevity of these worms, each mosquito season can lead to an increasing number of worms in an infected pet.
Click here to read more information on heartworms!

External Parasites: Fleas & Ticks

Fleas
Fleas are a common parasite that bite, transmit disease, and cause your dog to itch, making them very miserable. Fleas also suck blood, and when left unchecked, this can cause lethargy, weakness, and even death if not caught and treated in time. Common (medical) conditions and infections from fleas include flea allergic dermatitis and tapeworms.

To make sure a flea infestation doesn’t begin or become a vicious cycle in your home, all your pets, including indoor-only cats or dogs, need to be on a year-round preventative. Once fleas enter your home, they can quickly take hold (each adult female flea can lay anywhere from 20–50 eggs each day) and cause an infestation that can be very difficult to completely get rid of.

Ticks
Ticks can be found anywhere in the United States – and at any time of the year. Like fleas, ticks suck a dog’s blood, and when left unchecked can also cause related health problems. Ticks can also transmit several debilitating diseases in dogs, such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, tick paralysis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Internal Parasites: Hookworms, Roundworms, Tapeworms.

Hookworms

•  Hookworms are intestinal parasites that live in the digestive system of your dog or cat. The hookworm attaches to the lining of the intestinal wall and feeds on your dog’s blood. Its eggs are ejected into the digestive tract and pass into the environment through your dog’s feces
• Larvae (young hookworms) that hatch from hookworm eggs live in the soil. These larvae can infect your dog simply through contact and penetration of the skin and through the dog eating the larvae when they ingest dirt or during their routine licking (cleaning).
• Hookworms are zoonotic, meaning they are transmisable to humans. 

Roundworms

• Roundworms are the most common parasite in cats and dogs, even among well cared for pets.
• Roundworm eggs are very hardy and long-lived in the environment. Preventing egg shedding through early and year-round administration of broad-spectrum parasite control is critical to prevent environmental contamination.
• One species of roundworm can produce about 200,000 microscopic eggs per day!
• Roundowrm is a parasite with the potential to infect humans and is most common in children.  Infection occurs from ingestion of larvated eggs in the environment. When ingested by humans, larvae from roundworm eggs then migrate to organs such as the liver or lungs, to the eye or even the brain, and can cause disease.

Tapeworms

• Tapeworms are a common intestinal parasite that can affect dogs and cats. They are long, flat and segmented parasites. The segments can look like grains of rice, and they are passed through an infected animal’s feces, where they may be seen in the stool, the fur around the animal’s anus or in their bedding.  
• Unlike many other parasites that dogs and cats can get from exposure to infected feces, animals only become infected with tapeworms by ingesting a flea or rodent carrying a tapeworm.  

Vaccinations – The Truth

The Internet has allowed so many fear-based myths to spread and this has lead to people thinking that it’s OK not to vaccinate their pets. We want to be very clear on this. Vaccines are necessary, for the most part safe and animals that are vaccinated live longer, happier and healthier lives than those who are not vaccinated. 

Young animals are like kids–it’s a never-ending job to keep them safe and happy. Vaccinating your pet is a relatively inexpensive but very important way to protect his or her health. In addition to preventing many life-threatening illnesses, vaccinations can prevent diseases prevalent in wildlife and those that can be passed to humans. It’s important to administer vaccinations when pets are puppies and kittens because their young immune systems are still developing and need protection to stay healthy.

While any medical treatment involves some degree of risk, in the case of vaccinations, the benefits far outweigh any potential side effects. Adverse reactions are rare and usually mild and short-term when they do occur.

Which vaccines should your pet have? “Core” vaccines are those recommended—and possibly mandated by law—for most pets. Core vaccines include:

• Rabies (dogs and cats)
• DA2PPV – Distemper, Hepatitis, Adenovirus 2, Parvo and Parainfluenza (dogs)
• FVRCP – Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus and Panleukopenia (cats)

Other non-core, but highly suggested vaccinations for cats include FIV for feline immunodeficiency virus and FeLV to protect against feline leukemia. For dogs, bordetella and canine influenza shots are recommended if they frequent dog parks, boarding kennels, or any place where they’re socializing with other canines.

It’s also important to note that even pets who live primarily indoors should be vaccinated, as they can still be exposed to a disease. Your Destin Animal Clinic veterinarian can advise you which vaccinations are required or recommended for your pet based on age, health, and lifestyle.

Prevent Dental Disease

Dental Disease will happen to your pet and chances are it will happen early. The answer? Brush your pet’s teeth and have a dental well-being assessment every six months.  We offer Destin’s best value dental well-being program. When it comes to teeth, prevention is so much better (and cheaper) than cure. 

Pet Wellness Exams Near You

Pet owners in the Destin, FL area trust Destin Animal Clinic with their pet’s annual wellness exams.

Make An Appointment online to learn more.